Central Schools Present Plan for Special Education

Submitted by Taylor Media Services

CENTRAL, La. – Central Community School officials have begun implementation of an action plan this summer to ensure that all students receive the highest quality education.

                The Central Community School Board recently called for a self-audit of the district’s special education programs and services to aid school officials in identifying areas in need of improvement. 

“Our special education programs and services are applicable to a wide array of students in our district.  It’s important that we invest in programs and personnel to strengthen our curriculums and enhance the learning atmosphere for every student,” School Board President Sharon Browning said.

                Browning said the board recently approved the appointment of Amy McLin as director of special services for the district, beginning this month.  She said McLin’s first action on the job has been to review the district’s special education audit and set forth procedures and a timeline for implementing enhancements. 

It is the board’s goal to address areas needing improvement prior to the start of the upcoming school year, Browning said.   In fact, the proposed action plan was recently forwarded to school board members and implementation began immediately, she said. 

                Browning noted that the proposed action plan includes the creation of a new policy and procedure handbook for special education services, additional training for all personnel, and the appointment of two new coordinators to oversee important aspects of the district’s special education programs and services.

“There are various state and federal guidelines governing special education programs and services, and those guidelines change quite often. There’s really an on-going learning curve with these programs,” Browning said.  “That’s why we felt it was best to do an audit of our special education programs and services before making any changes.  We want to make sure that all changes are in compliance with state and federal guidelines.”

Browning said the current proposed action plan also calls for most enhancements to be in place before the first day of classes in August, and for all to be in place within the first month of the new school year.  The 2010-2011 school year will be only the fourth year that Central’s schools have operated independently from the East Baton Rouge Parish School System.

                The school system last year received voter approval to implement a multi-million dollar capital improvement campaign to build a new elementary and middle school and to upgrade existing facilities. Last year also marked the first year that Central’s student test scores were included in the state’s accountability program, which ranks school district performance.  Central was rated as one of the state’s top-tier districts.

Browning said a copy of the proposed special education action plan is available on the district website at www.centralcss.org.